As severe storms bring tornadoes and flooding to the South, at least 13 people have died; head to the Northeast A powerful storm system that brought golf ball-sized hail and tornadoes to the South continues to move across the Northeast on Saturday, killing at least 13 people in multiple states.
More than a million people were left without power as a result of the storm, which caused wind gusts strong enough to tip tractor-trailer trucks and posed a threat of more torrential rain, tornadoes, and heavy snowfall.
The storm system is the same one that dumped feet of snow on parts of California, forcing the governor to declare a state of emergency in 13 counties and trapping some residents in their homes with snow piled up to the windows on the second floor. A new system is now bringing another round of snow and rain for many of those affected on Saturday.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear stated at a news conference on Saturday that the severe weather that struck the region on Friday has resulted in the deaths of at least five Kentuckians.
Four deaths across the commonwealth in Edmonson, Simpson, Logan, and Fayette counties were previously reported by CNN. Beshear said that an 84-year-old man from Bath County was the additional person to die.
As of 11:11 a.m. ET on Saturday, 396,517 residents of Kentuckiana were without power, according to Beshear, who stated that it will take days to restore power in some areas. According to him, five water districts are operating with limited operations and 1,874 Kentuckians are under a boil water advisory.
Two people died in Tennessee. According to an email sent by the Humphreys County Emergency Management Agency to CNN, a man was killed when a tree fell on the vehicle he was riding in. According to a press release issued by the City of Hendersonville, a tree fell on an elderly Hendersonville woman who was walking with a neighbor on Friday and caused her death.
Officials say that three more people died in Alabama, one in Arkansas, one in Mississippi, and one in California.
As of 8:45 a.m. ET on Saturday, 25 million people were under wind alerts and 15 million were under winter weather alerts along the West Coast and in New England.
About 1.2 million customers were without power on Saturday, according to PowerOutage.us. The most outages were reported in Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
The National Weather Service says that northern New England will get a lot of snow until Saturday afternoon, and Massachusetts will have a mix of rain and snow.
“Storm aggregate sums of 6 to 12 inches hopes to happen inside a significant part of the Mohawk Valley, Adirondacks, Lake George Saratoga District and southern Vermont,” the Public Weather conditions Administration in Albany, New York, composed.
At 11:12 a.m. CT on Friday, a tornado that was moving northeast at 55 mph was identified just south of Reidland, Kentucky. Flood warnings are in effect in the South as a result of the weather.
At one point, flash flood warnings extended for about 400 miles across parts of Indiana and Missouri.
From Arkansas to Ohio, more than 300,000 people are still under flood watches.
The storms damaged homes and businesses in Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama on Thursday, disrupting flights at airports.
During the storms on Thursday, six tornadoes were reported—five in Texas and one in Louisiana—damaging dozens of homes in the city of Shreveport. There were 18 reports of hail in Texas and Oklahoma, with the largest hailstones reportedly measuring 1.75 inches in diameter—roughly the size of a golf ball.
After a brief respite from back-to-back winter storms that have brought unseasonably cold temperatures and prompted rare blizzard warnings in parts of California, snow is again forecast in the higher elevations along the West Coast. Communities that have been buried in snow are preparing for another round.
“These areas may receive an additional several feet of snow, with the northern Sierra Range likely receiving the most. The weather service explained, “On Sunday, precipitation will spread inland, with heavy snow possible in the higher Intermountain West terrains.”
Some northern regions, including the Sierra Nevada mountain range, could see anywhere from one to five feet of snow by the weekend’s end.
However, the snowfall that blanketed the most recent round of communities has damaged essential businesses like grocery stores, obstructing vital roads and trapping residents in their homes.
According to Angela Musallam, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, a “weather-related” incident resulted in the death of 80-year-old Lois Barton in Placer County. She didn’t say how the death happened, but CNN meteorologists said that on Tuesday, there was a lot of snow where it happened and temperatures were around freezing.
This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in 13 counties, including the severely affected San Bernardino County. On Thursday, the National Guard arrived to assist in the rescue of residents trapped by the snow and to remove snow from the roads and rooftops.
The county fire department told CNN that a number of structure fires in San Bernardino County appear to be caused by a storm. Although it did not provide an exact number, the department stated that the number of fires was “atypical.”
Gas spills are accepted to be liable for a few house fires in the mountain networks, as per Fire Boss Dan Munsey. There are a lot of them in areas without roads. According to Munsey, firefighters are using snowcats to reach homes, dragging shovels, hoses, and digging hydrants out of the snow to put out fires.
Concerning reports of gas leaks, CNN has contacted Southern California Gas Co., a significant local provider.
According to Paul Solo, a resident of the San Bernardino community of Crestline, residents have become immobile as a result of the abundant snowfall and have begun to become concerned about their ability to access supplies as their sole local grocery store has closed due to the roof cave in from the weight of the snow.
In the snow-covered mountains, emergency personnel are still present in large numbers, eager to clear roads and deliver food and supplies to remote residents.
In a press conference on Friday, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus stated that ready-to-eat meals have been provided to rescuers so that they can distribute them to those who are unable to obtain food. He added that food distribution points will be set up by first responders, and a convoy carrying food and other supplies to restock supermarkets will be led up the mountain.
Crestline and Lake Arrowhead, which is nearby, have recently experienced nearly 100 inches of snowfall. Aerial footage from CNN affiliate KCAL shows homes with snow piled up to the windows on the second floor and neighborhoods with streets that are hard to see.
Solo stated that shoveling walkways for emergency exits is the only way to get around. “Everyone has been shoveling every day, and then it will snow another two feet,” he added.
Solo is of the opinion that the snow might not be removed for at least another week.
“Until then, we are confined to our dwelling. Even if we wanted to, we were unable to leave.”
